Grounding clip



Jan. 30, 1962 B. A. SARAFINAS 3,019,409

GROUNDING CLIP Filed April 15. 1959 Invewimrf Bruno J1. Sara zines United States Patent 3,019,409 GROUNDING CLIP Bruno A. Sarafinas, Saugus, Mass., assignor to United- Carr Fastener Corporation, Cambridge, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 15, 1959, Ser. No. 806,483 2 Claims. (Cl. 339219) This invention relates generally to fasteners and particularly to those which are adapted to holding a piece to an apertured support. The invention is useful in connection with a fastener that is intended for use in a blind location.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a fastener which has means for engagement with an apertured support and means for engagement with an externally threaded stud.

A further object of the invention is to provide a grounding clip for engagement in a blind location which is capable of securely holding an electricalwire in contact with a metal support.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious, and will, in part, appear hereinafter.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing in which like characters designate corresponding parts in all the views:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of applicants invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the clip shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in side elevation of the clip shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the clip shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of application of the clip with a support with wires running horizontally;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a modified form of a clip attached to a support and with a wire running vertically;

FIG. 7 is a section taken on line 77 of FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawing, FIGS. 1 through 4, the fastener is shown as a U-shaped clip 18 provided with two arms, one of said arms or as it may be called, a base element, is indicated at 14 and the other arm at 12. The said arms 12 and 14 are in spaced opposed relationship to each other as shown at FIG. 3. The said two arms 12 and 14 are connected at one of their terminal ends by a bight portion 16 which has apertures formed therein. The said apertures are elliptical in form and extend with their long axes at right angles to the plane of the terminal edge 36 of the base element 14 and the wall 17 of said apertures 15 farthest from the terminal end of the terminal edge 36 of the arm 14 lies on a plane between the plane of the arm 12 and the base element 14. The bight portion 16 may be formed so that it can partially circumscribe a conductor wire 18 placed in the position shown at FIG. 6. The arm 12 has an aperture 28 formed therein whose wall 22 is formed into a helix, in this case, spiralling toward the arm 14, although the helix could be formed spiralling in the axially opposite direction. The said helix is formed to have a diameter less than the total diameter of the thread on a bolt 24 with which it is intended to be engaged. A guide aperture 26 is formed in the leg 14 and the wall 28 of said aperture 26 is drawn to form a support engaging element 3!} which may be in the form shown in FIGS. 3 and 7 or which may be any of the numerous fastening elements old in the art used to engage an apertured support such as a pronged ring, or a shouldered type trimount. The support engaging element 30 should be formed with this basic idea in mind, that the element will consist of two prongs 32 and 34 which are so constructed that the distance between the outside portions of the prongs 32 and 34 is slightly greater than the diameter of the aperture in the support of two operative toothed gears, therefore, when a wire 18 is passed between the walls of one of the apertures formed in the bight 16 in a horizontal position and is laid in one of the grooves formed by the serrations of the terminal edge 36 of the arm 14, all of the saw teeth of the arm 12 will overlie the groove in which the wire 18 lies and will, when the clip is fully applied to a support as will hereinafter be explained, so that a very secure electrical engagement will be made between the clip and the wire which will be capable of resisting vibration and hard usage.

The clip 10 is engaged to an apertured support 38 such as a junction box by passing the prongs 32 and 34 between the walls of a correctly placed aperture in the support 38 so that the prongs will snap behind the support 38 when engagement is completed as illustrated in FIG. 7. A wire 18 may then be passed in the fashion shown in either FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 so that a good physical and electrical engagement can be made between the Wire 18, the clip 10 and the support 38. A bolt 24, such as in this case a flat head screw, can then be screwed into the helix in the arm 12 down through the walls of the guide aperture 26 to engage the terminal ends of the prongs 32 and 34 in such a way that the arm 12 is pulled toward the arm 14 compressing the wire 18 between them as set forth hereinbefore or closing the diameter of the bight 16 about the wire 18.

One of the really great advantages in applicants clip is that the wire 18 can be engaged with the clip in two directions. It can be engaged with the clip in a line parallel with the axis of the bight 16 as shown in FIG. 6 or in a line at right angles to the axis of the bight 16 as shown in FIG. 5. This allows great versatility and a broader range than normal in areas normally difficult of access for this type of connection. A slight variation of applicants serrated embodiment is disclosed at FIG. 6 to illustrate the fact that the arm 12 need not have serrations at its terminal end. This slightly changed arm is for ease of reference numbered 12a. All other elements of the fastener can be the same, although the serrations on the base element 14 may also be done away with in the application shown at FIG. 6.

Since certain other obvious modifications may be made in this device without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained herein be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A grounding fastener clip device having a base portion, attaching prongs extending from said base portion for engagement with a support to hold the clip device to the support, a clamping arm connected at one end to said base portion and free at the other end and in superposed spaced relation to said base portion for clamping a wire between it and said base portion, said clamping ar-m having an aperture theret-hro-ugh in alignment with said attaching prongs whereby a fastening stud may have a portion thereof passed through said aperture and engaged with said attaching prongs to lock the clip device to a support and wire engaging means provided by the clip device whereby a wire may be engaged between the base portion and the clamping arm in either one of two directions angled relative to each other.

2. A grounding fastener clip device having a base portion, attaching prongs extending from said base portion for engagement with a support to hold the clip device to the support, a clamping arm connected at one end to said base portion and free at the other end and in superposed spaced relation to said base portion for clamping a Wire between it and said base portion, said clamping arm having an aperture theret hrough in alignment with said attaching prongs whereby a fastening stud may have a portion thereof passed through said aperture and engaged with said attaching prongs to lock the clip device to a support and wire engaging means provided by the clip device whereby a wire may be engaged between the base portion and the clamping arm in either one of two directions angled relative to each other, the said attaching prongs and clamping arm being provided 1 with thread engaging means for engagement with threads on a fastening stud.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 908,389 Briggs Dec. 29, 1908 1,647,762 Wiseman Nov. 1, 1927 1,705,579 Lutz Mar, 19, 1929 1,764,227 Robinson June 17, 1930 1,881,836 Mitchell Oct. 11, 1932 2,183,109 Sipe Dec. 12, 1939 2,390,750 Tinner-man 5. Dec. 11, 1945 2,658,247 He uer Nov. 10, 1953 2,934,737 Gibson Apr. '26, 1960 

